Not sure I really get the premise of wordless Wednesday, but lots of my friends do it, so I just want to take a few minutes out of my working day to look at these pics and think, ahhhhhhhhhhh… 
These are from Donegal’s north coast, Mourne Mountains in Co. Down and the Antrim coast.
I reported a while ago that I bought a gorgeous long cardigan on ebay which I then discovered stank of mothballs/smoke and I was incredibly disappointed because it was something I’d been trying to get hold of for ages! Here’s the link, I can never seem to work out hyperlinking on here, even though Sara tried to tell me how before- sorry for being so thick Sara!
http://suzy2110.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/smoke-damage/
ANYHOW!!! When staying at my Aunt’s house last weekend, she had her great friends Desmond and Liz in for drinks, and the subject came up. Liz suggested dousing the garment in handwash cleaner and fabric softener overnight, weighted down in very little water and lots of cleaner. So, I put it in my pressure cooker overnight as described, then put it in a main wash, and to my delight, I do believe we’ve cracked it!
This was a very expensive cardigan (OK, so I got it at a knockdown rate on ebay, but still) so I will be utterly delighted if it turns out that I can wear it without my colleagues calling me “Stinky Suzy”. Well, no more than usual anyhow. Bearing in mind that I spent today being told by one of the engineers, “I can see your bra”. When I asked why it was that he was looking, he replied, very INSULTINGLY, “Any port in a storm”- so Gareth Thompson, if you are reading this, you’re going to be sent to Derry and Dublin EVERY time a call comes in for the next three months or so, and let that be a lesson to you!!!
Thanks to Liz for pointing out what should have been an obvious solution! You ROCK!!!
Whilst staying with my Aunt last Saturday, she took me out for lunch to Yoko’s Bistro in Coleraine. We had lunch there before around Christmas time and it was lovely, so I was delighted to be going back!
Set somewhat incongruously well away from the town centre, in the middle of an industrial estate, and sandwiched between a McDonald’s and a Pizza Hut, you could be forgiven for giving it a wide berth! However as soon as you cross the door, you realise that this is a lovely, modern restaurant, well fitted and attractive on the inside. There is a strong Japanese flavour to the decor, with a lot of dark wood and lighted panels giving a cool, modern feel.
Having been seated, we had to spend a while going through the massive menu! The choices are very broad, mostly with strong asian themes but with some European dishes. There are plenty of noodle options- this is becoming so fashionable these days, my aunt had a noodle bowl the last time we were there and it looked lovely!
I opted for the thai prawn cakes for my starter, whilst my Aunt had sesame prawn toast. We shared these and they were both lovely. The prawn cakes came with a delicious sweet chili sauce and were really special.
For my main course I chose sizzling king prawn with lemon grass and chilli. My aunt opted for duck with a cherry and plum brandy sauce. Both were delicious- my Aunt isn’t a big eater so I think I probably had more of hers than she did- for shaaame! My Aunt had ordered a side dish of garlic chips and these were rather undercooked, which is the only criticism I can level at the food! Everything was very plentiful and delicious, and delivered in a timely manner.
Service was good, very unobtrusive. The place was pretty busy for a Saturday lunchtime in such an out of the way location, and I understand that it’s jumping in the evenings! The people of Coleraine have been without this kind of place for too long- for a university town there are amazingly few decent places to eat- and it looks like they are all enjoying it a lot!
One funny thing- they had a sign pinned to the front door saying that they were training up a new chef and to complain if the food wasn’t good- bloody hell, guys, give the new person a chance!!! I’d be feeling pretty offended if I was the new chef! Who appears from my experience to be pretty good!
So, since what has now become known amongst my friends as “the Drennan’s review debacle”, I’ve realised how ridiculously naive I was about blogging before I started.
I never had any idea that anyone except for a few of my friends would ever read that review, and can’t believe the amount of interest and reads per day it generates, even now. I think to date about 3000 people have read that particular post of mine, and obviously not everyone liked what I had to say.
OK- so lesson learned- don’t write anything in the public domain unless you have a thick skin! Which, I have discovered, is not me- mine is apparently painfully thin. Two people got very personal for reasons that I still don’t understand, and don’t think I ever will. Water under the bridge- they are complete losers and not worthy of my thought. I certainly shouldn’t let them upset me (even though I can’t help it!!)
However since then, I have noticed that a LOT of people are finding my blog by using the search “suzy2110″. I am very uncomfortable with this because I feel like I am being stalked. I’ve actually come to very much regret using this ID when I started my blog- once again with the major naivete- as I was using that ID in a couple of other internet facilities and have had to shut these down. I have also tightened security on other areas of my online life because I don’t feel safe with it any more.
LESSON LEARNED.
However- I wonder if I am overreacting. Maybe it’s just friends of mine who use this search. Can anyone own up please? It would give me peace of mind.
And if you are searching on my user ID because of the Drennan’s review- WHY???
A lot of my friends who read this blog have recently departed for greener (or less green, not sure!) pastures, or moved a long time ago. Some of them just aren’t from NI, lol! So, for those of you who don’t get to see my kids on a regular basis, here are some recent pics.
For those of you who DO see my kids on a regular basis, tough.
Consider yourselves spammed!!!!! 
She’s now sent me a lovely email asking me when I am going to sell my 6-9 month clothes as she loved the first two lots so much! 
It makes me really happy that someone like her has bought my stuff, and that another baby is having fun in all my son’s clothes, rather than some big seller buying the lot, and breaking it up to flog at a profit.
Plus as someone who works in the service industry, it makes me really happy that I have such a satisfied customer! 
According to my three year old son, that is.
Ricky has recently become obsessed with being the winner, insofar as he perceives it! This includes all aspects of life as well- eating, walking to the car, everything! Yesterday I got him a couple of pieces of buttered bread for a snack and made the same for myself. I then made the gross tactical error of finishing eating before he did. This, to my utter amazement, resulted in him having a complete meltdown because he hadn’t won! In the end I got myself another slice of bread and ate it slowly while he finished so he could win- how ridiculous is that?!
Oh and going to the car yesterday- he ran on ahead and got there first, and then said “I am the winner! Yay!!” which made me smile, except that he followed that up with “and you are a BIG loser, Mummy!”
Reminds me of the time when I was out with my friend Keith somewhere and he jokingly accused me of being a loser. I had had a few drinks, and was hysterically laughing, and then tried to do the loser sign on my forehead- except being left handed I got it round the wrong way, resulting in all those around me collapsing with laughter and me confirming Keith’s point quite well!
Maybe he’s right!
Either way, this ultra competitiveness had better be a phase or affirmative action will have to be taken!! Can anyone tell me if they all go through this?
I get sent brochures by Property News and got this one which majorly tickled my funny bone!
http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?p=PNC146657
One can only wonder what kind of Freudian slip the estate agent has made, and what kind of eejits the vendors are for not noticing their mistake!
“There are not enough expletives to describe this house”
There’s a slim possibility- just a chance- that they mean superlatives.
And they wonder why the housing market is in such a mess!!!
It was Ian and my 12th anniversary today, an occasion which also clashes weirdly with the death of one of my favourite dogs, and with a massive fall out (never fully recovered from) with one of my closest friends. So, although it should normally be a day which I can concentrate on fully, sometimes I can’t forget the past!
The day started like most others- Ricky and Robbie getting me out of bed at 6.30am…however once Ian was up, he got the kids dressed and took them to the park for a while, so I went back to bed with the cat (who occasionally has his uses- not often, but sometimes!) and slept for a while. A massively rare, lovely treat, as those of you with small children will know!
After lunch, we decided to go for a walk up to Scrabo Tower. Those of you from Northern Ireland will immediately know where I am talking about. For those of you who don’t, it’s a tower built in the 1850′s to commemorate a local earl, which makes it a “folly”. It sits on a very prominent cliff face/hill and can be seen for miles around. In fact we can even see it from some rooms in our house!
I found this amazing link, which will give you a 360 degree tour of the views- which are staggering-
http://ispyni.com/gallery.aspx?TITLE=Castles%20and%20Monuments&dataid=53061
Sadly however, whoever took this shot didn’t visit on any clearer a day than we did- you can see the Mourne Mountains in the distance and see across the sea to Scotland. Today we could see Scotland well and see the snow capped mountains of the highlands in the distance. Heaven!
Here are a couple of pics-
For the first time EVER that I have visited, the tower itself was OPEN!!!!! Which meant that to my total delight, Ricky and I were able to climb the 122 steps to its summit and take in the astounding view from the top. This is something I will remember for the rest of my life! The views are great and it was SUCH a rare treat. I think they only open a few days every year and we just got lucky! Ricky had so much fun too! Robbie and Ian stayed at the bottom because of all the steps and Robbie played around in the grass!
Afterwards, me and the boys headed to my Dad’s to feed my horses, while Ian headed into Belfast to collect some stuff for dinner. The weather was really mild. so me and Dad and the boys played in my Dad’s gorgeous garden for a while before we came home.
The boys have just gone to bed and Ian is cooking me a delicious roast chicken dinner at the moment. I am truly a blessed, blessed girl! Life is good!
As a treat for our twelfth anniversary, which is coming up this weekend, Ian and I took a break from redecorating the house to enjoy a rare lunch together without the kids!
We decided to try Balloo House in Killinchy- it’s only four miles down the road from us and we’d read excellent things about it in the Bridgestone Guide last year.
Upon our arrival, it became immediately obvious that we should have booked- they were packed to the rafters even though it was lunchtime and Killinchy is pretty far out of the way! However they managed to find us a table very quickly indeed.
The decor is very oldy-worldy-pub. I love the old photos on the walls and the ancient advertising posters, including “Bovril- better than a blanket! Defends against colds and influenza!” It is painted a dark red colour which suits the room very well and makes it feel deceptively cosy- but if you look around it is actually quite a large place. There are roaring real fires and a number of interesting “relics” such as an old range oven in the middle of the restaurant!
We were presented with our menus and could not believe the variety and choice, each option sounding more appetising than the last! After massive deliberation, I went for crispy fried squid, followed by salmon with noodles and asian greens. Ian opted for leek and potato soup and steak and guinness pie (he’s a very traditional eater, lol!).
After our orders had been taken, we were served with a basket of delicious complimentary homemade breads served with butter and tapenade. The breads were so yummy that I could barely wait for the rest of my food!
We weren’t disappointed- my squid starter was absolutely incredible- the squid itself perfectly cooked. It was served with two side bowls, one of homemade mayonnaise and one with a chili jam (with tomatoes and heavily scented with cumin- gorgeous!). The sauces were so good that I made them leave them at the table so I could dip my salmon in them, lol! Ian’s soup was equally nice, very creamy and a good balance between potato and leek.
My salmon was perfectly cooked and served on a delicious teriyaki flavoured bed of noodles. My only slight criticism would be that I would have preferred a few more of the asian greens mentioned on the menu, but that’s nitpicking! Ian’s steak pie was so absolutely massive that it would have fed a small nation for a year, but was full of flavour, tender beef and served with yummy buttery roast carrots on the side. Ian had (somewhat bizarrely in my book) ordered a side of cabbage and bacon and this was also lovely.
We were both completely stuffed by this point but the puddings sounded so nice and we so seldom get out for a meal together that we threw caution to the wind and decided to go for it! Ian’s sticky toffee pudding was gorgeous, served in a satisfyingly big puddle of butterscotch sauce. I had a white chocolate cheesecake which was nothing short of perfection.
Service was good too- despite the fact they were so busy, nothing was too much trouble, and BOY do those guys shift!!
The meal was also excellent value. Three courses each and two soft drinks each- total came to only £41.
I can’t believe I haven’t checked this place out before! I will be galloping back at the earliest opportunity. I honestly can’t think of a bad thing to say about it, and highly recommend it!
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